Indian men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have decided to withdraw from the upcoming Asia Badminton Championships in Ningbo, China. The tournament is set to take place from April 8 to 13.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) had announced the squad for the competition earlier on Monday. However, upon checking the entry list, it was noted that Satwik and Chirag will not be participating.
Currently ranked 11th in the world, the duo recently reached the Round of 16 at the All England Open but had to retire during their second game. They were playing against China’s Hao Nan Xie and Wei Han Zeng. After losing the first game 16-21, the Indians were tied 2-2 in the second when they retired from the match due to injury.
This is not the first time the pair has pulled out of a major competition. Last year, Satwik-Chirag withdrew from the Badminton Asia Championships after Satwik was recovering from a shoulder injury. Despite this, the duo had a successful 2023, winning the men’s doubles title at the same tournament after defeating Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in the final.
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